Soccer star Titus Bramble is facing a driving ban after being convicted of speeding in his £50,000 car without a full licence.

Soccer star Titus Bramble is facing a driving ban after being convicted of speeding in his #50,000 car without a full licence.

Newcastle United defender Bramble, 22, was caught driving at 102 mph without displaying L plates while he was only the holder of a provisional driving licence.

Two policemen spotted the England Under-21 player breaking the 70 mph limit on the A14 dual carriageway near Ipswich, Suffolk.

PC Jeff Cribb told Ipswich magistrates he was looking out for speeding vehicles on January 11 when he saw Bramble's luxury BMW X5 four-wheel drive motor.

The traffic officer said it appeared to be exceeding the speed limit and he confirmed its speed with a police pilot detection device. With colleague PC Shaun Beck, he then followed Bramble in a marked police car with blue lights flashing and he pulled over in a layby.

PC Cribb added: "The driver identified himself as Titus Bramble and produced documentation. There were no L plates displayed."

Prosecutor Nicola Devas handed the court a document confirming that Bramble only held a provisional licence and not a full licence at the time.

Bramble did not attend yesterday afternoon's hearing , just hours before he scored in Newcastle's 5-0 home victory against Dutch side NAC Breda in the UEFA Cup.

He was convicted in his absence of speeding and driving otherwise than in accordance with his licence.

Presiding magistrate Graham Barnett adjourned sentencing until October 8, and said the court needed to "consider disqualification" as a punishment. A third charge of failing to produce a driving licence was withdrawn by the prosecution.

Ipswich-born Bramble of Jesmond, Newcastle, transferred from Ipswich Town to Newcastle for #4.5 million in July last year.

At the time of his motoring offences, he was recovering from a hamstring injury which left him sidelined from Premiership football for three months.